7 Incorrect Ways to Look at Your Career

Nobody is perfect. I get that because I have made my share of mistakes and listened to a lot of bad career advice. For me, most people get into the habit of making the wrong moves when they get the responsibility of making the moves as in adulthood.

In India and in many countries it is common that parents make most of the choices for their kids until they are 18 or 19 and then leave them to decide what is good and bad.

Therefore when career comes into play many people end up taking the wrong direction thinking it is right. That mostly happens in the form of bad career advice or in other words, making unplanned and un-informed decisions in your career. This generally happens because of pre-set notions and perceptions, too much guidance and a genuine lack of capability to take strong decisions.

It all lies in the way you look at your career. And believe me this look is influenced by innumerable factors like comfort of living, parental support, parental guidance, own insecurities, unawareness, simple ignorance to name a few.

Therefore I believe is such circumstances when you do not what is right, the best move is to ascertain the things which are wrong. That is a top notch career advice… of that I am certain.

Here are 7 ways you should not look at your career… and life in general

1. Spend now and save later

If you are thinking that you have just started earning good and you want to spend it all on living the most out of it… then please think again. It is not wrong to live life but making a drain of your hard earned money is not advisable.

Think about the hard work and patience you have devoted to reaching where you are. Then, think about all the logical issues which you can face in the coming times. You never know what can happen. One day there is a market boom and on the other there comes recession which can leave you and your career astray.

If you save not much but even 10% of your monthly salary, it can gradually earn increasing interest and come up to a substantial some. This not only means a great deal of financial security but also financial investment and the scope for you having a chance to create your own real assets like homes and automobiles.

So don’t spend all of it clubbing. Leave some for the mutual funds!

 

2. Better pay is always better

I get it! Better pay means more money to buy new stuff for you and your loved ones and having a better life. But you should not limit your career goals only on pay checks. What matters more is experience and exposure.

Some jobs may pay you better but greatly limit your scope of growth and networking while others give you chance of polishing your expertise, learning new things and meeting new people.

You might think that these kinds of jobs do not exist in your sector but they do. What you should do is keep looking and applying for these kinds of opportunities. One such example is John Sculley. I know, you might not like him for getting Jobs removed from Apple but this guy was the driving force behind PepsiCo’s success but when the opportunity came for something great he made an impressive move to switch to Apple.

So, always keep looking for wholesome growth and not just financial.

 

3. You are too young to buy insurance

I have heard many young guns say that they do not need insurance at the moment. They seriously believe that nothing unplanned can happen. I personally believe that they need to come to terms with reality.

I am not telling you to buy plans worth millions, no. I am telling you to merely start. There are good plans where you just have to pay say 1 rupee a day. It doesn’t require that great an effort too! You just link your accounts with the plan and the amount of the premium gets withdrawn automatically.

Insurance is a great way to protect yourself and your loved ones against the unthinkable and the unplanned. So do not keep waiting for the right moment. You should start now.

 

4. You will wait until marriage to plan your finances

An extension of the first point I mentioned, panning your finances are important from the day you start getting your own finances. Trust me; it does not take more than 30 minutes in your entire day.

Many people say that they do not need to manage their finances as such until marriage. These are those who realise just before these important commitments that planning would have been the better way to go all the way.

Planning and keeping track of your finances lets you be in control. You know how much debt you have under your credit cards. You know how much savings you have and a lot more. This means that every time you indulge in a transaction you will have a certain idea of its impact on your financial resources. That… helps a lot!

 

5. Your core skill is enough

Many people often wonder why so many engineers go for an MBA. I believe if you give it a deep career-oriented thought then the answer will become quite obvious. It is because most of them are wise enough to realise that in the modern world you need to have a multiple skills.

There is intense competition on the globe when it comes to having better careers and having better lives. To stand in this competition you need to learn more than you think is enough.

Therefore, never be satisfied with the knowledge you have. Keep looking for courses, programs and paths which interest you can amplify your portfolio.

 

6. You do not need to diversify

Ever heard the saying “Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket”. That is exactly what diversification means. It is a top notch career advice anyone can give you.

You see, if you will closely observe the most successful people you will observe a very interesting attribute.

These people never use all their skills in one place. They never invest their money and resources in just one option. They do not have just one business. They always have a backup plan for everything.

This attribute in a nutshell is called diversification. You need to ahead in your thinking and plan each step with a subtle backup for each step. That is one sure shot way to success!

 

7. Success is easy

If you are thinking that success is easy then reboot your mind and think again. There is no shortcut to success. There is now ay where you don’t have any hard work to do and end up getting millions.

So keep working hard and plan intelligent. And always remember:

“Sometimes it’s better to know what not to do then not knowing what you have to do”

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